The temporal bones are the flat parts on either side of the head between the forehead and the ear. Compounds are adjectives that refer to these bones in connection with another part of the head, as in temporomandibular, of the temporal bone and the lower jaw or mandible; temporoparietal, of the temporal and parietal bones; temporo-occipital, of the temporal and occipital bones. The first two terms are often hyphenated.